Gaming
 

Thuggish Splicer

From BioShock Wiki

Thuggish Splicer
Health

100 (Default), 50 (Welcome to Rapture), 80 (Medical Pavilion), 150 (Arcadia and Farmer's Market), 200 (Fort Frolic), 700 (Hephaestus), 600 (Olympus Heights), 800 (Point Prometheus), 1200 (Proving Grounds)

Damage

25 until Hephaestus, 80 in and after Hephaestus.

Location

All levels.


BioShock Research Rewards
Thuggish Splicer
1 + Damage
Vulnerable to antipersonnel rounds
2 Physical Tonic - SportBoost
3 ++ Damage
4 Physical Tonic - SportBoost 2
5 +++ Damage


The first Splicer type the player fights in the game, Thuggish Splicers are the bread and butter of BioShock combat: stupid and can burn up without a fuss if one has the Static Discharge Combat Tonic, as the damage at higher levels coupled with the stunning effect can render them inert whilst the player takes on tougher foes, or enjoys the sight of a moth flying into a bug-zapper. However, they make up for this by being fast movers. Later on in the game the player will encounter Thuggish Splicers who are invulnerable to electrical attacks. They also take a lot more ammo to kill, since Electro Bolt and Static Discharge will no longer have any effect on them.

Contents

[edit] Strategy

Cannon Fodder? - To a degree. Early on, a single, a good Pistol headshot or Shotgun blast can take one down without a fuss. Later on, the player will have to switch to antipersonnel rounds and upgrade their weapons' damage at Power to the People stations if they wish to survive. This Splicer type upgrades at the game's midpoint, becoming immune to all electrical attacks.

Notable Behavior - A player can hear a Thuggish Splicer before they see them by the characteristic scraping noise they make by dragging their weapon across the floor. When attacking the player, they will rush towards them in a straight line and jump towards the player when close to them, whacking at them with their melee weapon.

Tips and Tricks:

  • When badly injured, Splicers will attempt to use a nearby Health Station, if available. This can be used to the player's advantage if they had previously hacked the Health Station. After they have dealt a good amount of damage to the Splicer, it will run to get health and be poisoned to death by the hacked Health Station.
  • During the first levels in the game, the One-Two Punch is the best solution against this Splicer type. However, this strategy becomes useless when Thuggish Splicers become immune to electricity.
  • In general, the best strategy is to kill this Splicer before it gets in melee range, preferably by laying traps in its easily predictable path.
  • If the player is skilled enough, they can attempt to dodge this Splicer's jump attack, and then hit them with the Wrench before they can recover.

[edit] Recommended Plasmids

  • Electro Bolt is the prime Plasmid against these in the first stages of the game, as it both immobilizes them and allows them to be hit by the Wrench for quadruple damage.
  • Incinerate! is useful when ambushing these Splicers from afar, as they tend to die before they can get to the player.
  • Cyclone Trap, when placed directly under a charging Thuggish Splicer, will usually kill them or damage them so severely any form of attack will subsequently kill them.

[edit] Recommended Weapons and Ammunition

  • Antipersonnel ammo will usually kill any Splicer in a couple of shots.
  • The Wrench is, surprisingly, a very good choice when tackling Thuggish Splicers, provided the player has equipped the right tonics (see below).
  • The Shotgun with 00 Buck will usually one-shot a Thuggish Splicer in the earlier levels. However, as they become tougher, it is recommended to switch to Exploding Buck.
  • Every ammo type for the Crossbow will work well against Thuggish Splicers, although players skilled at headshotting won't need to use Incendiary Bolts, instead they can stick to the standard Steel-tip Bolts.

[edit] Recommended Tonics

  • The Static Discharge line of tonics will be of great use to the player against this Splicer type until they reach Hephaestus (where Thuggish Splicers become immune to electricity). Not only does it protect the player against surprise attacks, but when in the middle of a group one single discharge can stun several enemies at a time. If his, this will also give the player time to One-Two Punch the Splicer before it deals any more damage.
  • The Electric Flesh line of tonics, as well as making the player resistant or even immune to electrical damage, will increase the attributes of Static Discharge and Electrobolt. These tonics become useless against Thuggish Splicers by Hephaestus, however, for the reasons specified above.
  • The SportBoost line of tonics will significantly increase the player's speed and Wrench hit rate, making it easier to evade and/or ambush this Splicer type, as well as survive better in melee fights.
  • The Wrench Jockey line of tonics will significantly increase damage dealt by the Wrench, making melee fights much easier.
  • The Wrench Lurker line of tonics will not only make ambushing easier for the player, but will also increase melee damage against unaware enemies (which also counts enemies hit by Electrobolt or Insect Swarm).
  • Bloodlust will grant the player a small amount of health and EVE after each successful Wrench hit, making melee fights not only easier to survive, but also desirable in some cases. Clever ambushing using this Gene tonic can even replenish the player's stats, to no cost in ammunition or resources.
  • The Armored Shell line of tonics will significantly reduce all physical damage received, making melee encountered far less dangerous.
  • The Frozen Field line of tonics will not only increase Wrench damage, but will also have a chance of freezing any enemy hit with it. This speeds up melee fights, especially against groups.
Enemies in BioShock
Splicer Thuggish Splicer · Leadhead Splicer · Nitro Splicer · Houdini Splicer · Spider Splicer
Big Daddy Bouncer · Rosie
Machine Security Bot · Security Camera · Turret
New Enemies in BioShock 2
Splicer Brute Splicer
Big Daddy Rumbler · Big Sister
Machine Miniature Turret